Trying to identify Nodwell CF60 brake parts.

[Stinky Buffalo]

A friend of mine built his own rig out of a Bombardier Bombi and Toyota parts. Was fantastic for pulling out moose etc.

Unfortunately he sold it without letting us know - I have no idea where it is now. :'(

[trackrig]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

A friend of mine built his own rig out of a Bombardier Bombi and Toyota parts. Was fantastic for pulling out moose etc.

Unfortunately he sold it without letting us know - I have no idea where it is now. :'(

Any pictures?

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[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

Wow, that's a lot for tires.

That's the "budget" tire cost too. Goodyear and Michelin are another 1000-1800 more per tire!
I've looked into an Argo Centaur before. It seems like a quality piece of equipment, however slightly undersized for my needs. I think that Bombardier Muskeg is going to be it. It's big enough for the tasks which I have in mind, yet small enough to be transported on a trailer behind my 93 12v W250.
The machine available locally is a 2005 Muskeg HY with a Cummins QSB. Has anyone had any experience with that particular generation of "Bombies"? Are there any known problems? Google isn't too helpful with answering my questions.
As for the "swamp traxx", they seem like a nice idea. What happens when the tires get wet and start slipping on the rollers? I think it's great that they are a locally made product. I think that it would function better if you had to remove the tires and attach belts or chains to drive the tracked platform. I understand that time is money, especially since the manufacturer is catering to the oilfield market.
Yet again, thank you to all of the contributors! I know that this thread will keep developing until it reaches epic proportions and dwarfes that darn chicken wing thread !

[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by trackrig

Any pictures?

I'm quite interested as well! Trackrig, aren't you supposed to be relaxing right now?

[trackrig]

Originally Posted by grouse_hunter

I'm quite interested as well! Trackrig, aren't you supposed to be relaxing right now?

Yes, just finished dinner down by the beach. Forgot the charger for my laptop so I can't contribute much on a cell phone..........

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[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by trackrig

Yes, just finished dinner down by the beach. Forgot the charger for my laptop so I can't contribute much on a cell phone..........

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Enjoy your break! I'm looking forward to that Muskeg post which you typed up!

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by trackrig

Any pictures?

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Unfortunately no! But next time I see him I'll try to snap some shots from his old photo album.

[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Unfortunately no! But next time I see him I'll try to snap some shots from his old photo album.

That's anti-climactic... I'm quite intrigued to see the combination of Bombardier technology and Toyota parts. Do you recall which modifications were made to the original unit? What was the manufacturing year of the Bombardier unit?

[The moose]

Just for the keeping things straight, a Bombi was a small tracked vehicle made by bombardier. A muskeg is a much larger unit. Most short term bombardier to Bomber. Also bombardier no longer owns their track division.

This is one of our units operating in the alberta muskeg. Nice scenery up there for sure.

https://youtu.be/XmgfhMEi7SY

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by The Moose

Just for the keeping things straight, a Bombi was a small tracked vehicle made by bombardier.

Yup! If I'm not mistaken, I think they were the ones that the City of Edmonton used to plow the sidewalks with back when I was younger. Kind of like this one:

Originally Posted by grouse_hunter

That's anti-climactic... I'm quite intrigued to see the combination of Bombardier technology and Toyota parts. Do you recall which modifications were made to the original unit? What was the manufacturing year of the Bombardier unit?

He built it in the early 70's and sold it about 5-10 years ago. I wish I could remember the details better!

From what I could remember, the axles, wheels and tracks were from the Bombi. It was attached to a welded square frame, upon which he built the body out of plywood. There were platforms for cargo on the front and rear, and the controls were in the center (throttle and brake levers, basically). He told me that it had two transmissions (one for forward, the other for reverse) and of course the motor. I know the motor was a Toyota, I'm assuming the transmissions were Toyota as well, although I don't know how that would be set up.

If you look at the stock Bombi, you can kind of imagine how he had set it up:



I wish I had paid more attention at the time; I always thought that he would pass the unit on to his kids and have it stay in our hunting "family".

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Yup! If I'm not mistaken, I think they were the ones that the City of Edmonton used to plow the sidewalks with back when I was younger. Kind of like this one:





He built it in the early 70's and sold it about 5-10 years ago. I wish I could remember the details better!

From what I could remember, the axles, wheels and tracks were from the Bombi. It was attached to a welded square frame, upon which he built the body out of plywood. There were platforms for cargo on the front and rear, and the controls were in the center (throttle and brake levers, basically). He told me that it had two transmissions (one for forward, the other for reverse) and of course the motor. I know the motor was a Toyota, I'm assuming the transmissions were Toyota as well, although I don't know how that would be set up.

If you look at the stock Bombi, you can kind of imagine how he had set it up:



I wish I had paid more attention at the time; I always thought that he would pass the unit on to his kids and have it stay in our hunting "family".

Must have been pretty hairy sidewalks to need a Bombi to plow 'em!

Just guessing on my part, but your friend probably switched to a Toyota drivetrain for a little more power. I don't know if he was pulling your leg, but I can't see two transmissions. Maybe a transfer case just for a gear reduction and more total gears overall.

I believe they were all made with Ford drivetrains. 4 cylinders with manual transmissions. If I remember right, they used some interior parts too.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

Must have been pretty hairy sidewalks to need a Bombi to plow 'em!

Just guessing on my part, but your friend probably switched to a Toyota drivetrain for a little more power. I don't know if he was pulling your leg, but I can't see two transmissions. Maybe a transfer case just for a gear reduction and more total gears overall.

I believe they were all made with Ford drivetrains. 4 cylinders with manual transmissions. If I remember right, they used some interior parts too.

Well, you know, back then winters were colder, snow was deeper, men were tougher, etc. etc. I still recall being terrified of that thing with the V-Nose plow barreling down the sidewalk.

I think you may be correct about the transfer case idea - I'm going to ask when I see him again.

Knowing him, he probably picked up one that was scrapped - maybe a blown engine etc. which would explain the motor exchange.

Loving this thread, BTW - please let me know if I'm derailing this too much with my nostalgic meanderings!

[The moose]

The SW48 was used as the sidewalk plow. Similar to the bombi but not the same. Many are still in service out east.

You are correct on the ford drive-train running in the Bombi.

[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by The moose

The SW48 was used as the sidewalk plow. Similar to the bombi but not the same.

I stand corrected! Thanks!

[Tfng]

32/40win It would be cool to work on some of those units. I had something much lighter in mind though. Something like this in 6x6 with a bit of a box on it. The pictured unit is amphibious. I was hoping the picture would have shown up in the post without a link. Low 100hp engine, low ground pressure, it doesn't seem to tear everything up.

https://media.licdn.com/media/AAEAAQ...MzA1YzNkOQ.png

There's a bunch of video of that unit in action here. http://www.stonetusk.ca

Here

[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by The moose

Just for the keeping things straight, a Bombi was a small tracked vehicle made by bombardier. A muskeg is a much larger unit. Most short term bombardier to Bomber. Also bombardier no longer owns their track division.

This is one of our units operating in the alberta muskeg. Nice scenery up there for sure.

https://youtu.be/XmgfhMEi7SY

Thank you for that information! I didn't realize that Bombi wasn't an abbreviated version of Bombardier.

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Well, you know, back then winters were colder, snow was deeper, men were tougher, etc. etc. I still recall being terrified of that thing with the V-Nose plow barreling down the sidewalk.

I think you may be correct about the transfer case idea - I'm going to ask when I see him again.

Knowing him, he probably picked up one that was scrapped - maybe a blown engine etc. which would explain the motor exchange.

Loving this thread, BTW - please let me know if I'm derailing this too much with my nostalgic meanderings!

Threads were better then too. You would have to brave the snow and the elements travelling over land to a coffee shop if you had something to say. Now you can just post in your ginch, before getting out of bed.

I for one am enjoying the thread. Was really tempted to buy a Bombi a few years back. I think if I was looking now, it would be for something with more of a deck, but I like the idea of a small machine.

[trackrig]

Yes most people with Bombis have to pull trailers for their gear. A small trailer with airplane tires that increases axle ground clearance works well.


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[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by trackrig

Yes most people with Bombis have to pull trailers for their gear.

Yes, with my friend's tracked rig he pulled a trailer, and sometimes he'd daisy-chain an old tent trailer to it as well.

[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by grouse_hunter

That's the "budget" tire cost too. Goodyear and Michelin are another 1000-1800 more per tire!
I've looked into an Argo Centaur before. It seems like a quality piece of equipment, however slightly undersized for my needs. I think that Bombardier Muskeg is going to be it. It's big enough for the tasks which I have in mind, yet small enough to be transported on a trailer behind my 93 12v W250.
The machine available locally is a 2005 Muskeg HY with a Cummins QSB. Has anyone had any experience with that particular generation of "Bombies"? Are there any known problems? Google isn't too helpful with answering my questions.
As for the "swamp traxx", they seem like a nice idea. What happens when the tires get wet and start slipping on the rollers? I think it's great that they are a locally made product. I think that it would function better if you had to remove the tires and attach belts or chains to drive the tracked platform. I understand that time is money, especially since the manufacturer is catering to the oilfield market.
Yet again, thank you to all of the contributors! I know that this thread will keep developing until it reaches epic proportions and dwarfes that darn chicken wing thread !

You mentioned undersized; what are you looking at hauling with it?

[trackrig]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

You mentioned undersized; what are you looking at hauling with it?

The Argos get to be undersized when you head out for 10 to 14 days with enough food, wall tent, another 20 gal of gas, and misc gear. Then when you get a moose, where do you put it?

I've seen three guys with three Argos and they did all right but otherwise things start to get over loaded.

Bill

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[grouse_hunter]

Originally Posted by Tactical Lever

You mentioned undersized; what are you looking at hauling with it?

I have a well defined idea of what I want to have. My plans are to turn the rear of the machine in a "personnel mover" which can be converted to a sleeping area by removing the backrests of the bench seats and installing them to fill the space between the seat bases. I'm planning to have two storage compartments per side. They'll be located under the bench seats and will be accessible from the outside. I'd like to have a frame mounted roof rack above the passenger compartment. This way I'll be able to use the front end winch to pull an animal up onto the roof.
I looked at the local Muskeg in person. It's quite compact. Smaller than what I had expected. There are several "gaskets" available to connect the tilt-able cab with the stationary body.
As trackrig said, camp equipment, men and meat end up weighing quite a bit.

[trackrig]

Bombardier at one time made a few small walking beam two axle tracked trailers that towed very easily behind the Muskeg if you didn't overload it. If you can find one or make your own, it's a good place to throw a quad or to put your sleeping area inside of.

You can build the tracked trailer out of tracks and grousers you wouldn't want on the track rig itself because you don't have any drive sprocket force on the tracks so they're treated easier.

Bill

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[Tactical Lever]

Originally Posted by trackrig

The Argos get to be undersized when you head out for 10 to 14 days with enough food, wall tent, another 20 gal of gas, and misc gear. Then when you get a moose, where do you put it?

I've seen three guys with three Argos and they did all right but otherwise things start to get over loaded.

Bill

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Originally Posted by grouse_hunter

I have a well defined idea of what I want to have. My plans are to turn the rear of the machine in a "personnel mover" which can be converted to a sleeping area by removing the backrests of the bench seats and installing them to fill the space between the seat bases. I'm planning to have two storage compartments per side. They'll be located under the bench seats and will be accessible from the outside. I'd like to have a frame mounted roof rack above the passenger compartment. This way I'll be able to use the front end winch to pull an animal up onto the roof.
I looked at the local Muskeg in person. It's quite compact. Smaller than what I had expected. There are several "gaskets" available to connect the tilt-able cab with the stationary body.
As trackrig said, camp equipment, men and meat end up weighing quite a bit.

Fair enough. When I envision the larger Centaur, I am picturing a bigger vehicle. One of the posters here had a pretty good description of a smaller Argo with 1000 lbs. of meat and gear coming down an impossibly steep hill with anything else. So maybe I had a vision of that and increased abilities with the Centaur unit.

For my personal use I would find something big hard to use/haul. I do understand that going through 'skeg is harder on fuel though.

Let's keep this thread rollin'!

[trackrig]

Bombardier Muskegs can be great rigs. When my brother and I got off on our own we were going to get a plane and a Muskeg. Instead, we wound up with several Nodwells and no plane - we decided that the way we rode snowmachines and dirt bikes that we'd be too dangerous in a plane......

Muskegs come in two variations.

The "tractor" version comes with the engine in the center of the machine and usually a single seat in front of it if it's an open machine or a three person bench seat if it has a cab. Most of the people using the tractor version for hunting wind up building a whole overhead rack to carry their gear throwing the light gear up on top and keeping heavier gear down below.



As with most things, there are good and bad points to everything. Having the engine in the center balances out the weight of the machine. Unlike Nodwells which have the drive units in the rear, the Muskegs are front drive units.

The "Carrier" version of the Muskeg has engine up front with the engine between the passenger and operator. This places the weight of the engine, the drive unit and the people. I mention this because several years ago in an area called Hatch Pass north of Anchorage a ways, a guy was out for a short trip with his family in a carrier version. When he started down hill, he tapped the brakes and the machine went end over end down hill.

I'm not saying don't get a carrier, because they're definitely better for hunting or carrying a load, but be aware of your surroundings. Some people have extended the bed out 18" - 24" by adding a full width fuel tank to the rear for better weight distribution.

This picture is of two Muskeg Carriers, a single and double cab version. One has a Perkins diesel which they've had problems with and I don't know what the other one is powered with. I believe he's got over $150K in those two machines.



There are the older versions of Muskegs, but I can't tell what year they changed them. Basically as with most things when they figured out the problems with the original version, they came out with a better one. I believe, but don't hold me to it, that you can tell the older version from the newer one by the cleats.

Notice the wheels and cleats on the tractor version. As on all Muskegs there are two rows of tires. In the above picture the cleat covers both tires going from one side of the tracks to the other side. On the original versions, they used shorter cleats that only covered one set of wheels with a second set of offsetting cleats covering the other row of tires. The two sets of cleats met side by side on the center row of belting. This means you have to have twice as many cleats and bolts - a major PITA when you have to change track rubber.

I believe if you find a machine with cleats that cover both tires going from one side of the track to the other side, it's a newer version of Muskeg. I mention this because in the newer version they built a stronger driver unit which is what you should be looking for. Not only will it be stronger, but it will be easier to get parts for the newer version.

Also, I believe, you can tell the older or original version by the cab, if it has one. They had a distinctive slopped cab that I'll describe as looking like an "S" that's slopped at a 45 deg angle.

This is a older Tractor with the center engine and a front three man cab that has the funny slopped cab.



You'll have noticed the cage on the outside of the tracks. This is another good/bad issue. It makes it impossible to slip a track which is great. On the other side, if you get a flat tire, it's a PITA to change them. And if you have to do any work to the tracks it's a pain with the cage on the outside.

Muskegs have the steering brakes in the drive unit like a Nodwell does. That in itself isn't a problem. I bring this up because as I said, on Muskegs the drive unit is up front. If you have a full cab in a Carrier version with the engine up front, then that means the drive unit and therefore the brakes are under the cab and under the engine. Not that you'll have to change them very often, but when you do, you'll have to at least take the front of the engine loose, and maybe the rear too, so you can raise the front up to have room to change the steering brakes.

Muskeg are also great because you can two them behind a stout pick-up truck. Just watch out that you don't also load on too much gear.

I was going to post a link to a nice Muskeg on Anchorage Craigs List, but it looks like the listing for it expired while I was gone.

Bill